Rail-expander.



E. W. VOGEL.

RA IL EXPANDER. APPLICATION FILED FEB. 19, l9l 5,

Patentd' Oct. 9,1917.

' Z-SHEETk-SHEET 1.

W'ITNESSES:

E. W. VOGEL. RAIL EXPANDER.

APPLICATION-FILED FEB. 19. 1915. I 1,242,395 Patented 001%.9, 1917.

9 SHEETS-SHEET 2- WITNESSES:

, f em ts EeGEiNE .W.- voGEL} oF- OAK '-PARK-,; ILLINQIS, Ass ie ton To CHi AGQJRAIL AYsIGNAL AND} 'sUP-Pr-LY COMPANY; F1 GA -PENTERSVIL E; ILLINOIS, A QORB RATIQN 0F ILLINOIS? a h mi m z/ COW/WW1 i BefitiknoWn that I, EUGENE W. VOQEL, a citizen Of the United States, residi 'g at Oak arltfl w ounty Of 1 .1 i n iS O l ir gi a e ve te z e iix. new nd 5 il p v me ts 11 Re ll-iE peI f Wlliilhi'tllg fellowing is e specification.

' the, applicatienii efel l ecl to; some cliflic'iilty "i My i vention elates' to ;I' t ll QXPLHdGIfS BJIld" is in the nature of .a n improvement upon the de i of my, cQ-p n n' ppl on for United States Letters Patient filed April 6, 1' lNO- 8 ,089: e t v V j' Inthe use (Of the rail expander shcwh in has been expei iehcecl because'ef tl'letehdehcy 'Of thjespindle'th bind in the threaded openingsin the railplempsg The. clevice wor ks 'a(l1 irably provided there "is nothing to 'f ltew'th m l cl mp "9 ftp mll n p -o ided 'th'e clg mps' are placed hear enough ea'chj Other so the Spindle annot bend actibn' tw en feethr ads Of i e sp nd and the threecli'hg of the clemps, Furtherm0re, it is clesirableto effect the separation of the fails ithout femovihg the angle hers T [the bolts binding the anglebairs to the, Webs of thB'IiflilS being, in such case, inei'ely leosened so as to allow the necessary movement Y0 f i'eils one'withrespect to the other, If 'the s'PiIidleQthreaded at each end, i s made long enough to span the'a gle bars it is likely t end, nl ss; m de f XQQ S YQLV hem. under the stress necessary to sepaf te the railsl, v

' One (3f the principal objects ofmy, present invention is to, provide grail-expander, the operation" of which is net hampered 'by the slight defect s which rails are likely; to have as above netedythat is to say; tqpro- Viclea device in which the spindle ill freely u e u he ghf the ends f h a s, eneas are l eh y en ut o line. with} ea like sp cimens eieeieent-Q mtehednee 9,1 19,17. Ap ligacji'dn m a 'eb qr ieiflis, se ig iv legt ie'. i

ether; er' 'a r'e Wefi n, Or, for othe ireascnsi ai'fe not offprecis'elv the same Cross sectilonal'ccnfiguration. I 1 A flii ther bhject 'of the T invention; is to pl ovicle a; raill expe nding device oflthe type deser iloeol #KhlChfYVill be lbfig enpughto sp'ah thezihgle b iiis but in whieh'ithe'refwillbe he teiiolehcy of'the spindle; te bincl even when subjected to sufli ciejlt stress to caLuse'it, to

' A firther object of; the [invent on-ji to .prI Vicle. the clamping elements with Thea 11s fer taxing a more intimate ztncl fi'eliahle grip upon the ritils thpihis.pOssihlein thev foriil tiOn.

'The invehtionhfts for further objects such the'r' new and improved dev ces, v:1-'r'rangelhents'lehcl "constructiehs relating to rail eX- claimedi' I 3 ,The invention is illustreted,,in zypr eferred "embodiment, in the accompanying drawings wherein- Figure 1;is;a' sicle elejiltior ef-afail expander; constructed in 'accor 'dztncee with my "inyent'ie'n "show x' ing the 1 device. operative erigitgeinent with ,t wp abutting rails; certain 0f *the' devices being illustrated: in 1 sectiknpi v on Fig. 2, a1 '1 e1 1d elevation of the parts shown Figilfl" with portions in section;

3, "a plztnflvieyv cf the 'parts lshownf in F1 2; l' with certainj'portiens ztlso in "section;

f a clamping Fig-1A, a perspective yiew jaw "forming 'pztrt of ithe" 7 device, and;

Fig; 5; a' sectio'n' On line 5+5 cf Fig; 2'. Like characters of reference designate perts ih' the se Yere l fig lres 'o fjthe draw: m spq p r, f .j v Q Bi tq mp hejde e bm sesi h ir la p n lement- 1' g n a yI i d e d at t andx-B," n 'mem erG jqiiiing. h m nd id ht i by tatio 'mev t em ril nd. ItQ I F' LQh. other: 7 vA 1 nd ar meted y ang b rs 2,. d. L el g in the ti-aek' thereto; i t

ach; o t m l amp ng l e tsIA nd B consists preferably of 'a'yeke l8rhavinga tj ew' lfi, a se'concl jaw 20, and a-scI e QI eII1- "gaging a threaded ope i g i th e jew, 20

i in e ifihefiei nd 17 the pi es" s uri g dle for a bar for turning the same.

defective. The jaw 19 is formed with two rail contactlng surfaces, one of which engages the inclined under face of the rail,

and the other ofwhich bears against the side of the ball of the rail. The jaw 20 engages the diagonally opposite edge of the ball of the rail. To increase the grip of the clamping elements A and B upon their respective rails, their aws 19 and 20 are recessed and provided with hardened plates26 and 27 re spectively, which, are inserted in the rail contactmg surfaces of the aws, and prefer ably have serrated surfaces, as seen most clearly in Fig. 4:. Preferably these plates are removably secured within the jaws by means of screws 28. By means of the plates 26 and 27 the friction between the elements A and B and their respective rails is greatly increased, particularly as against movement of either of the elements longitudinally of its rail. 7

- Generally indicated at C is rotatable spindle by means of which the elements A and B may be moved .toward and from each other. The element, A is formed with a socket 29,- and the spindle is provided with a ball-shaped end 30 engaging said socket.

An annular groove 31 is formed in the part of the spindle C lying within element A and registering therewith is an annular groove 32 formedin element A. Engaging both grooves is a series of arcuate keys 33 which fit loosely in the respective grooves and forman annular key which holds the spindle C and element A together. To facilitate the assembling of the parts, a gate 34E is provided, removably secured by screws 35 to element A, and shaped to form a portion of the bed of groove 32. By removal of gate 34 the arcuate keys 33 may be inserted or withdrawn from the grooves 31 and 32. It will be seenthat byreason ofqthe fact that the spindle C makes a ball and socket joint with element A, and by reason of the further fact that the keys 33 it loosely within the channels 31 and 32, a limited amount of angular movement is possible in the spindle with relation to element A, while the spindle is likewise free to rotate. Transverse apertures ,36 are providedfin the spin- A threaded aperture 37 is formed in the rail clamping element B for the threaded end 38 of spindle C.

clamping elements are attached to the rails at points beyond the angle bars by screwing down the spindles 21. The jaw plates 27 are preferably formed on an angle greater than that between the upper surface of the head of therail and its side surface so that the clamps will be capable of engaging rails of different sizes and contours.

On account'of the'ba ll and socket connec-' tion between the spindles 21 and elements 23 the jaws 20 may assume slightly different angular positions in accordance with the cross section of the rail engagech Moreover there is a certain looseness, preferably between the tongues 2 f on jaws 20 and the guldeways 25 so that the clampmg elements will take a firm hold on the rails, even .though the rails be slightly bent orotherwise defective. The rails are. separated by turning the spindle G. If, as often happens, the ends of the rails engaged by the clamps are a trifle out of line with each other, or are not ofexactly. the same contour, there is no binding of the spindle inv element B because of the ball and socket connection between the spindle and the other ,element A.

The ball and socket connections.between spindles,21 and the clamping elements 23, allowing a certain. adj ustability of the clamps on the rail, also contributes to preventany binding of the'spindle in the clamping element B.

y In theaccompanymg drawings and in the, foregoingdescription is setv forth the .pre-

ferred embodiment of my inventiombut it is obvious that one skilled in the art may make modificationsthereof without departingfrom thespirit of the invention.

'Iclaim:

1 In a rail expander, the combination of a pair of rail clamping'elements, a spindle in threaded engagement with one of said elements and connected to the other element. for rotation andfan gular movement with respect thereto, and rmeans engaging the spindle and said .other elementfor holding them together, comprising a key. protruding from said otherelement and'engaging an annular groove formed in thespindle. 2. In a rail expander, the comblnation .of a pa1r.ofra1l clamping elements, aspindle .in threaded engagementwith one of said elements andconnected to the other element for rotation and angular. movement with respect thereto, and means engaging the spindle and saidotherelement for holding themtogether, compr sing. a key member en- .100 in the hold gaging registering annular grooves, provided in: the spindle and said other element respectively;

other element respectively.

4. In 'a rail expander, the combination of a pair of rail clamping elements, a spin dle in threaded engagement with one of said elements and connected to the other element for rotation and angular movement with respect thereto, and means engaging the spindle and said other element for holding them together, comprising -a plurality of arcuate keys forming an annulus and engaging registering annular grooves providedin the spindle and said other element respectively.

5. In a rail expander, the combination of a pair of rail clamping elements, a spindle in threaded engagement with one of said elements and connected to the other element for rotation and angular movement with respect thereto, and means engaging the spindle and said other element for bold ing them together, comprising a plurality of removable key members engaging registering annular grooves provided in the spindle and said other element respectively.

6. In a rail expander, the combination of a pair of rail clamping elements, a spindle in threaded engagement with one of said elements and connected to the other element for rotation and angular movement with respect thereto, and means engaging the spindle and said other element for hold ing them together, comprising a plurality of removable arcuate key members forming an annulus and engaging registering annular grooves provided in the spindle and said other element respectively.

7. In a rail expander, the combination of a pair of rail clamping elements, a spindle connected to one of said elements by threaded engagement and to the other element by a ball and socket joint, there being registering annular grooves provided in the.

spindle and said other element respectively, and removable key members loosely engaging said grooves.

8. In a rail expander, the combination of a rail clamping element having a tapped aperture, a spindle in threaded engagement with said element, a second rail clamping element having a ball and socket connection with the spindle, there being an annular groove provided in the spindle registering with an annular groove formed in said second element,

with one o fthem, and a ball andso'cket'engage'i'nentwith the other; and a spindle interposed between said clamping elements having a threaded engagement with one clamping element and a ball and socket engagement with the other.

10. In a. device for moving railroad rails in the direction of their length, the combination of a rail clampingelement comprising pair of members having angular aws for engaging diagonally opposite edges of the head of a rail, a spindle for producing a thrust of one-member toward the other, which has a threaded engagement with one of said members and a universal joint connection with the other permitting rotation and angular movement of the spindle with respect thereto; a second rail clamping element adapted to engage an adjacent rail; and a spindle lying substantially parallel and above the rails engaged for efiecting a movement of one of saidrail clamping elements with respect to the other which has a I threaded engagement with one of said elements and a unlversal oint connectlon with the other permitting rotation and angu-- lar movement of the spindle with respect thereto.

11. In a device for moving railroad rails in the direction of their length, the combination of a pair of rail clamping elements each consisting of two members having angular jaws adapted to engage diagonally opposite edges of the head of a rail, one of said members being formed with a slideway in which the other member is loosely supported, and a spindle having a threaded connection with one of said members and a balland-socket engagement with the other; and a spindle arranged between said rail clamping elements aboveand substantially paral lel to the rails engaged having a threaded connection with one of said elements and a ball-and-socket engagement with the other element.

and means for permitting angular movement of the spindle with respectto the last named clamp.

13. In a device for separating the ends of adjacent railroad rails, a pair of clamps extending above the rails and adapted to grasp the rails, and a spindle located above the ball of the rail and interposed between the clamps for separating them, said spindle engaging with its end a socket in the inner face of one clamp and having a threaded connection with the other clamp.

14. In a device for separating the ends of adjacent railroad rails, a pair of clamps adapted to grasp the rails, one clamp having 15 a socket in its inner face located above the ball of the rail, and a spindle engaging said socket With one end and having a threaded connection with the other clamp.-

L. A. FALKENBERG, R. KUEHN.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

' Washington, D. G. 

